Rather Unfortunate Looking
by sodi
Summary: He could be likeable, she thought, if they both were entirely different people. Rose and Scorpius throughout their years at Hogwarts, one chapter for each year . Please read and review! Disclaimer: I own nothing of J.K. Rowling's.
1. First Year

The steam from the Hogwarts Express was so thick that Rose Weasley could not see past more than three of the scarlet train's cars. Mothers bustled about around her, double-checking trolleys and giving hugs to their children eager to board the train. There were already heads poking out of the locomotive's windows, craned to see everyone left standing outside on the station floor and excitedly waving goodbye to younger siblings and parents. Rose turned towards her father and reached for his hand as he gave her a reassuring squeeze and nodded his head to the blond boy he mentioned earlier, rolling his eyes and smiling.

_Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie._

Her mother was giving a hug to Albus and did not notice Ron's gesture. Rose nodded in agreement and grinned broadly back.

"You'll mail anything that I've forgotten, won't you Mum?" Rose asked her, trying to rack her brain at the same time and imagining everything she had packed in her trunk.

"Of course, dear," she answered. "And do not forget to write your brother," she said pointedly.

Rose gave Hugo one last hug and a look asking for some sort of encouragement that might get her through her first day at Hogwarts. He gave none. She turned away knowing that he was just sour because he once again had to see a relative leave for their magical education. She walked closer to the nearest doors, already behind Albus, and stepped off of the platform and onto the train.

From then her excitement got the better of her as she started to look for a compartment at once.

"Hey, Albus! AL!" her voiced traveled down the train faster than her feet could keep up and she struggled to carry her luggage without it weighing her down.

Albus turned around, not nearly half amused or excited as Rose and waited for her to catch up. His sorting woes were evident on his face.

"Is there anything even remotely empty?" Even as she said it she knew that groups of friends and upperclassmen had already occupied most of the seats.

"Not that I've found," Albus said rather grumpily. "But there has to be at least one—"

He was suddenly interrupted by a boy with blond hair and pointed features coming out of the next compartment. He was taller than both Albus and Rose and he held his head haughtily. As soon as he caught sight of who he was about to walk into his gaze shifted downward.

"Pardon me," he muttered. He stared at the floor as he lingered on the spot for a second and then tried to push his way through.

And just as Rose was about to write him off as being caught off-guard or even slightly embarrassed at having almost collided with somebody, she noticed that there was a smile playing on his lips as he continued to look down.

"Is there something funny?" She asked as his snickering became more obvious.

"Rose, come on—"Albus started to say, grabbing her by the elbow and steering her further down the corridor.

"No, hang on, what's so funny?" She asked the boy again and while doing so recognized him as the son of the family her father had acknowledged earlier.

The boy looked up and smiled at Rose. His smile, she thought, made him seem warmer, but she quickly pushed this thought aside as she looked at him even more interested.

"It's nothing really," he said, clearly amused. "You are just so predictably Potter.

He looked directly at Albus and smirked.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Albus asked angrily. His worries of where he was going to be sorted seemed to fade temporarily as he moved closer to the blond boy.

"So you're the Second Coming are you?" the boy said as his eyes narrowed. His smile was still stretched happily across his face, giving him a look of an animal about to enjoy its prey.

"_What are you talking about?"_ Albus, as Rose could see, was clearly annoyed at this point and still trying to comprehend what was going on.

The boy placed his hand on the outside of the compartment as the train began to move. Rose planted her feet firmly and rested her weight on her massive luggage trunk, still engrossed in this boy's attitude.

"You're Potter," he said simply. "You look just like your dad. Mind you, I'd stay away from anyone that seems to be acting nasty. Most likely it's because they want to. Old prejudices still exist, you know."

His smile disappeared for a brief moment and Rose thought for a fleeting second that he said this with concern. His smile quickly returned and Rose pushed aside this thought as well.

"I'm Scorpius Malfoy, by the way."

Realization dawned on Albus's face and he closed his eyes, shook his head, and opened them again as if he expected to see someone entirely different. As Scorpius's father hadn't been the childhood enemy of his own father and was now speaking so casually to him now.

"Oh," Albus searched for words and looked at Rose and then back at Scorpius. "Albus, uh, Potter, as you already know."

Scorpius waited for more. Albus shifted sheepishly.

"And this is my cousin Rose Weasley," Albus said quickly, clearly happy to put the attention on someone else.

"A Weasley?" Scorpius said incredulously. "You don't look like anything resembling a Weasley. Well, you've got those famous freckles splattered across your face. But other than that you're merely bordering on unfortunate looking."

Rose felt her face grow hot and found her voice at last.

"_E -excuse me?" _she stammered as she tried to retort. "I am a Weasley and I've got a good feeling that you should shut your mouth."

She huffed loudly and thought of her mother's pleas to not let her temper get the better of her as it usually did. This, she thought, was very Weasley, even if her brown hair that was swept up in a ponytail and dark brown eyes were not.

"And my freckles aren't _splattered._" She stood there breathing heavy and looking Scorpius dead in the eye. He stared right back at her, his eyebrows raised so high he looked much younger than eleven.

"C'mon Rose," Albus glared at Scorpius as he tried to lead her away again. Rose turned her back on Scorpius who was now looking them both up and down, bemused.

Rose walked away with Albus right behind her and continued until she heard his footsteps halt.

"Hey Malfoy?" he asked. Rose stayed facing opposite Scorpius but her ears perked up upon hearing Albus ask him something.

"Do you uphold old prejudices?" Albus said with much emphasis on "you". He looked as if he already knew the answer as he asked it and Rose turned her head to see Scorpius's reaction. Scorpius took his hand off of the outside of the compartment and stood a little straighter. His smile vanished and his gaze only lingered on Albus for a second before he rested his eyes on Rose, looking none too thrilled about the question.

"No," he said softly and immediately walked back into the compartment and closed door behind him.

"We didn't wave to anyone from the window," Albus said regretfully. He stared blankly at nothing in particular and brushed his messy black hair out of his eyes.

"Well, let's sit then," Albus said brightly. Rose noticed that they were still standing in the middle of the train's long corridor with their entire luggage.

"Yeah, alright," Rose said quietly. She moved into the compartment and hoisted her trunks above into the spaces above her and sat down. She stared out of the window and thought of nothing but Scorpius and his thin arrogant face and laughing eyes. She hated him. Still, she remembered his answer to Albus's question and the look he gave her. He was not laughing nor was he rude. He stared at her as if he knew that she was an easy target for prejudice. She indeed came from a family of blood traitors and a muggle-born. And although the war had ended, Rose knew that there were people who still regarded muggle-borns as less than pure-bloods. She had expected the Malfoys above all to stand by these beliefs most willingly.

The train ride was slow and winding and Rose was relieved to see the witch pushing the lunch trolley from outside the compartment window.

"Excellent," Albus exclaimed, clutching his stomach. "Lunch!"

Rose watched as Albus took out his pocket money and bought nearly everything on the cart. She got up herself and took two pumpkin pasties from the smiling witch and sat back down again.

"That's it?" Albus asked, his mouth full of Chocolate Frog. "That's all you're going to eat?"

"I don't have to stuff my face to have a satisfying meal, Al," she nodded at the collection of sweets at his side.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to find James and see what he's doing."

Rose shrugged indifferently. She noticed Albus growing more impatient and asking questions about Hogwarts and was glad to see the back of him as he left. She pressed the side of her head against the window again and saw her reflection in the shiny glass. She thought that she did look rather unfortunate looking and closed her eyes. All she saw playing out on the inside of her eyelids was Scorpius's sneering face.

"Weasley?"

She shut her eyes tighter. Wonderful, she thought, now she's hearing his voice.

"Rose?"

Her eyes snapped open as she realized she was not imagining annoying voices.

"I saw your cousin leave," Scorpius started. He looked down at Rose sitting against the window staring back at him, her face unreadable. "So I thought someone as friendless as you would appreciate the company."

She turned back towards the window without saying anything.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked again.

"_What?"_ she responded exasperatedly. She was getting annoyed.

He seemed pleased with her acknowledgement and took the seat across from her. He rested his elbows on his knees stared at Rose intently. She looked back at him and noticed that while he was either sneering or laughing at some inside joke, his face was not unkind. He could be likeable, she thought, if they both were entirely different people. There were several minutes before either she or Scorpius said something.

"I was only joking, you know," Scorpius told her. He scratched at the back of his blond head and his short hair fell out of place slightly. "You're not unfortunate looking."

Rose looked up hopefully and then immediately cursed herself for acting so eager.

"Incredibly weird, yeah," he started again. "But then again, yeah, you are kind of ugly."

She stared at him again for a few seconds before she smiled.

"I really hate you Scorpius," she said laughing. "You are like the biggest git on this train."

He reached over to her seat and grabbed one of the pumpkin pasties. He left a chocolate frog in its place.

"Probably," he agreed. "On second thought, I'd probably come second to Potter."

And with that he got to his feet, smiled at Rose and left before Albus could return.

The rest of the train ride was full of Albus's never-ending worries and a game of Exploding Snap. Rose wished she could be left with her thoughts but instead tried to distract herself by reading one of her books and chastising Albus for not putting on his school robes earlier like she did. She was glad that it was not much longer before the train came to a stop. Everyone left their trunks on the train and the first-years headed toward the boats where an enormous man was calling for them.

"Hagrid!" Rose said excitedly as she approached the old friend of her family.

"Hello Rose, Al, how are yeh?" he said as he ushered students into various boats.

"Fine, fine," she said as she scrambled into a boat, glad to be luggage free and waiting for Albus. "A little nervous about the sorting is all, now that I'm nearly inside."

"Really? I'd like to think you were nervous about putting that hat on and it yelling "squib" in front of the entire Great Hall," said a drawling voice from behind.

Rose's head whipped around as Scorpius walked by her and into another boat.

"Oh shut up Malfoy," she said, the tiniest fraction of admiration she had for him dissolving immediately.

"We're on a last name basis then?" he asked as he stepped into a neighboring boat. "Try not to be seen with me then, _Weasley_, I don't want to be shunned my first day of school."

Before Rose could say anything back, the boats started moving. Her conversation with Hagrid and any chance of being consoled by a friendly face were left back on the grounds where the train had dropped her off. She felt her heart beating faster as she neared the castle and did not even acknowledge the one other girl in the boat with her and Albus muttering to himself nervously.

The doors of castle opened and Rose, along with Albus and the other First-Years walked into their new home. The ceiling was an exact replica of the starry sky outside and the tables glowed with their own aura as candles floated inches above them. The other students were already sitting at their respective house tables and Rose couldn't help but feeling overwhelmed. A tiny professor walked up to them and asked for everyone's attention.

"Good evening everyone," he piped up. "I am Professor Flitwick and you are all about to be sorted into the four different houses of Hogwarts. I, along with everyone else in the castle, expect you to treat the members of your house as if they were family. Alright?" he paused and gave a sweeping glance over the First-Years' faces. "Well then, here we go!"

Rose looked past Professor Flitwick and saw the old Sorting Hat sitting on top of a wooden stool, it ends frayed and brim twitching as if it were about to come alive. Rose jumped back and gripped Albus's arm as a tear in the hat's brim opened and a voice emerged.

"_It has happened once, a hundred times_

_Since I have divided you all_

_But we have learned from past events_

_That the divided are prone to fall_

_So I urge you still to humor me_

_And seek friendship with everyone_

_For my sorting will place you right and smart_

_And surely leave out none_

_In Gryffindor you will find_

_That bravery sets them apart_

_Their chivalry and daring nerve_

_Is rooted deep inside their hearts_

_For Ravenclaw, as many have heard_

_Is where the clever dwell_

_Their endless search for knowledge_

_Allows them to excel_

_In Hufflepuff it is wildly known_

_That the true and loyal are invited_

_If the house was full of kind souls_

_The founder would be most delighted_

_And Slytherin might seem complex_

_With events now in the past_

_Nevertheless how cunning they are_

_With ambition certain to last_

_For now I've laid it out for you _

_The four Houses equally great_

_I shall peek inside your minds, young ones_

_And of course make no mistake!_

The Great Hall erupted into applause and the Sorting Hat sat on the three-legged stool, waiting. Professor Flitwick unrolled a piece of parchment undoubtedly bearing the names of students about to be sorted, and Rose waited eagerly for her turn.

"Asterly, William!" called Professor Flitwick. Rose watched as Asterly, William climbed onto the stool and sat perched, his knuckles gripping the sides.

"Slytherin!" the hat exclaimed.

The Slytherin table burst into applause and the first-year went to sit down at one end of the Great Hall. Several students tried the hat on and wore it until it exclaimed their new house. Rose looked absent-mindedly into the Great Hall until a name Professor Flitwick called caught her attention and snapped her back to reality.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Rose watched Scorpius's every move as he walked up to the stool, his head bent and his eyes lowered.

"Bet we know where he's ending up, eh?" Albus said in her ear. He laughed nervously as he said this and Rose suspected he was half being snarky and half trying to cover up his own nerves.

Scorpius sat there for what seemed like several moments, staring at his hands resting in his lap. Rose stared harder at him, trying to read his face in the silence of the Great Hall but she could not get very far. Finally she saw, in what seemed like slow motion, the hat open its brim.

"Slytherin!"

Scorpius took off the hat and lingered around the stool for a moment before heading towards the Slytherin table, smiling politely and earning claps on the back from a few fellow Slytherins, yet not the same congratulatory sentiments Asterly had received.

A few more people went by, including a Ravenclaw and two Hufflepuffs. Albus looked on the verge of ruining his pants and Rose saw him wave to his brother James across the hall. He could only stand there waiting for a few more seconds before Professor Flitwick called him up to be sorted.

"Potter, Albus!"

The Great Hall became as silent as when Scorpius had gone up but the hat didn't take nearly as long to decide where to put Albus.

"Gryffindor!" it yelled. Out of the Gryffindor table came a roar of applause, cheers and whistling. Albus practically ran to join his new housemates, grinning from ear to ear.

Rose waited for even longer and found herself beginning to become more anxious as students tried on the hat and were applauded to their tables. After "Vance, Rupert" was sorted into Ravenclaw Rose guessed that she could only be next.

"Weasley, Rose!"

As soon as Professor Flitwick called her to be sorted she had turned around and noticed that she was the only one left. She walked towards the stool aware that everyone else in the Great Hall was becoming impatient and waiting for dinner. She quickened her pace and hoped she got to the stool fast enough before timidly placing the hat on her head.

"_Another Weasley I see. Well you've got the nerve and the courage to achieve great things but there's also plenty of intelligence there. Sorry, but I am going to have to keep up with old patterns. It is where you'll do the best I am sure of it."_

The Sorting Hat's voice was speaking only to her and before she could fully comprehend what it was saying its brim opened wide.

"Gryffindor!"

Rose opened her eyes and let out a breath she did not even know she was holding. She realized what had just happened and smiled, pleased with where she fit best. She walked over to the Gryffindor table and happened to look farther down the Hall. Scorpius was looking at her intently and when he caught her eye he nodded in her direction and smiled while rolling his eyes. She smiled nervously back and took her seat, eager for her first year at Hogwarts to begin.


	2. Second Year

Rose was sitting in the library absentmindedly flipping through the pages of _Hogwarts: A History. _She was not entirely sure why she was there as the Christmas holidays were only a few days away and most teachers had lightened up on homework assignments. She looked out the nearest window and watched as the snow fell lightly onto the earth, creating a thick white blanket over the Hogwarts grounds. It was nearly six in the evening and beginning to darken so Rose decided that she should be getting back to the dormitories. From around a large pile of books to her left came a loud collection of giggles from many girls, immediately reminding Rose why she had left the girls' dormitory in the first place. She grabbed the book she was reading along with a couple rolls of parchment discarded on the next table and her copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ and slowly began to put them in her bag. An extremely loud laugh followed by a snort came from the group of girls nearby. Rose sighed heavily and fastened her bag shut with a soft "click".

"Would you mind shutting up?" A voice Rose recognized all too well came out from another section of the library, clearly frustrated and annoyed.

There was a brief moment of silence before the girls continued in hushed voices. Rose picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and proceeded to walk towards the frustrated voice she had heard earlier. She rounded a towering bookcase filled with dusty copies of wizard encyclopedias and saw Scorpius's hunched figure dimly lit by a few candles hovering above him.

She briefly recalled their first meeting and how he had insulted her without mercy. She remembered everything that happened their first year last term and how thrilling it was to compete with him in every class. Rose had prided herself on spectacular study habits and a sharp memory that came useful after a night's work of pouring over books and found it infuriating that Scorpius was able to do just as well if not slightly better than her. She had often questioned whether or not they were even friends. She enjoyed his company, yes. Rose liked to have someone to argue with and his sharpness in class motivated her further. She didn't like, however, that Scorpius could get really mean when he wanted to. But she had decided a long time ago that she could put up with little things like that when it was worth it.

"I liked how you told them off," she said. She had walked over and faced him across the table as he stayed buried in his book. "Very impressive."

"What's impressive," he started, still reading. "Is that you managed to get through life that ugly without jumping off the nearest ledge." And with that he looked up and smiled.

"Har, har," Rose said sarcastically. She was at a loss for a comeback as she usually was when he smiled at her like that. Since last year, he was still very boyish, yet taller. He was the same old Malfoy.

"You want to sit down or continue lumbering over me like a troll?"

"Oh, be quiet Malfoy." Rose had already gotten her studying fix and was now extremely hungry. "I was just thinking of going down for dinner," she paused for a reaction but there was none. He had continued reading. "So, do you think you might want to come with me?"

"Sure," Scorpius said. "Would you be so kind to help me put these books back?" He gave Rose a smile that made a blush creep up her neck and onto her cheeks. She quickly picked up his books and turned around, desperately trying to find the right shelves to put them on.

"Oh come on now!" Scorpius was bouncing on his feet like a child. "Let's go already!"

"Fine, fine," Rose said almost laughing at the sight of him. "Is that how you beg your mother for sweets?" She dumped the books on the nearest shelf, thinking how her own mother would have scolded her for this.

"Well you mention food and then expect me to wait around all night for you," Scorpius complained.

You know what?" Rose turned around to face him. "Why don't you just go by yourself then?"

"Maybe I will, Weasley," he started walking backwards while he spoke to her. "You ought to learn to control that temper of yours. You're just too," he paused, thinking. "Snappy."

Rose could not find any words in her vast vocabulary to say to him. She watched him turn a corner and walk out of the library, waving to Madame Pince on the way. She couldn't even remember how she got to this moment. One minute she was inviting Scorpius to dinner and gushing over his smile and the next pushing him away. She decided to put his books on the proper shelves and found it much easier when she wasn't distracted by a certain blond boy. She walked out of the library practically starving and hardly paying attention when she ran right into Scorpius.

"Weasley, watch out there," he said. He had caught her by the shoulders. "About time too," he said softly. He let her go and looked at her long nose before turning around and walking in the direction of the Great Hall.

"I didn't know you were waiting for me," Rose said quietly. "I wouldn't have taken ages." She had started walking and caught up with him.

"Putting the books back properly?" he asked. She hated when he knew what she was doing or what she was thinking. She scowled.

"Yes," she said, wanting to end the conversation that proved he was right. But she quickly fumbled around for words when she saw his smirking face. "Well I couldn't just leave them lying there! It's rude."

They were at the doors of the Great Hall when she said this and all Scorpius could seem to do was laugh at her as he walked in and she followed. Since their first year Rose and Scorpius had shared three dinners together. The first was the most awkward with Rose's cheeks an almost permanent shade of pink throughout the whole evening and the second slightly better with only a few insults being thrown across the table. Both had received disapproving looks from the few haughty boys from the Slytherin table. Scorpius had insisted that they sit at the Gryffindor table for the sake of the Slytherins as Rose's face was "too ugly to inflict that kind of pain on anyone." Rose liked to think to herself that the reason they did not sit over there was because Scorpius wanted to spare her the likely insults brewing at his house's table.

The tables of the Great Hall were already adorned with food of different sorts and students and teachers were happily eating to their content. Rose and Scorpius took seats next to James Potter and two girls to whom he was animatedly describing the recent Quidditch match. Scorpius, Rose noticed, hastily busied himself with a helping of baked chicken, keen to avoid anything related to Quidditch. In the last match Gryffindor had effortlessly squashed Slytherin and the fact that Scorpius had caught the snitch did not even help as the difference between the scores was so great.

"I think the only person undeserving of the blame for the loss is you, Malfoy," Rose said hoping to lift his rapidly sinking spirits.

"The whole lousy team deserves to be beaten with broomsticks after the way we played," he said darkly.

Rose tucked in to her pie and shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't the biggest Quidditch fan and Scorpius knew that but he still talked to her endlessly about it.

"Are you coming to the next game?" he asked as he looked up from his potatoes.

"Most likely, you know, if I don't have studying to do," she said back. His mood seemed to change immediately and considerately changed to a topic Rose was fond of.

"So tell me Weasley," he said as he reached across the table and stabbed his fork into her piece of pie. "What extra classes are you taking next year? I need to know so I can pass you up in all of them."

She pushed her plate toward him, feeling full and suddenly very interested.

"My mother said that Arithmancy is fascinating so I'll be for sure taking that," she rambled. "And I don't think Muggle Studies will be much different than anything I already know seeing as, well you know, and Divination also seems pointless and not beneficial to any sort of career goals," she paused to exhale and inhale and then continued before Scorpius could open even open his mouth. "Care of Magical Creatures seems interesting enough but I think that I've decided on Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

"Well alright, I'm going to bed," Scorpius said as he put his fork down. "That was enough talking to last me a lifetime."

"Well aren't you going to tell me what you're going to take?" Rose looked taken aback at his almost sudden departure.

"Let's just say I was thinking the exact same thing," he said. "I mean, Divination isn't going to benefit me in any way and Care of Magical Creatures? Seriously? And I've got my Muggle Studies right here," he nodded in her direction. "So the other two just make sense," he concluded with a stretch and a yawn.

Rose was delighted to hear that she and Scorpius would be, yet again, competing in all of their classes. She decided to ignore the muggle jab and get up to leave the Great Hall. They walked out and parted ways when they neared the entrance. She went west towards the seventh floor Gryffindor common room and he towards the dungeons to sleep in his Slytherin bed. He waved goodbye nonchalantly and continued on his way. Rose stared at the back of him for a moment and then walked towards her own dormitory.

By the time she had reached the seventh floor and told the yawning Fat Lady the festive password ("Christmas cracker") she was dead tired. Other students were scattered around the circular common room talking and laughing, their books cast aside and their backs to the large fireplace for warmth. Rose often tucked in early to bed and walked up the staircase to the Second Year girls' dormitory to find it empty. She laid down on her bed and kicked off her shoes then drew the curtains around her bed frame. She closed her eyes and thought of her Christmas holiday that was soon approaching.

Her mother had promised they would take a trip to France and then come back to the Burrow to see the family. Rose was relieved to have a break from Albus, James and Lily, along with all of her other cousins from her father's side. It was nice to spend time with only her mother and father and Hugo for a change, and on such a luxurious vacation. The only flaw in the plan was that she would most likely become lonely. Talking to Hugo was alright if it didn't last too long. He was more stubborn than she and childish beyond belief. Rose was reluctant to admit to herself that the only person she would miss, even if it was a little bit, was the boy she just had dinner with. Her eyes snapped open and she could no longer drift off to sleep as she wanted. She got out of bed and looked at her watch. She had an hour before curfew and thought her time would be better spent walking the corridors and losing herself in thoughts.

Rose walked past the crowd in the common room and quickly went down the stairs, trying to avoid the moving staircases. She rounded a corner as she fantasized about new classes next term and a certain familiar face. She was so absorbed in random musings that she didn't notice someone standing in the corridor until she bumped hard against him and staggered on the floor for a moment before regaining balance and rubbing her nose.

"Oh, Merlin's pants!" she swore aloud. In her moments of dizziness and utter confusion she saw two blurry figures slowly converging into one. "Oh great," she said as she realized who it was. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought I'd get a bit of fresh air," Scorpius said back. "Not that it's any of your business, Weasley."

Rose couldn't understand how they could go from eating together to insulting each other. Of course, they were always insulting each other, with him more than she. She glared at him while she rubbed her nose and wished she had enough Gryffindor nerve to slap him across the face.

"Is your face okay?" Scorpius asked concerned. He pulled her hand away from her nose and looked at her closely. Rose became extremely self-conscious under his gaze and turned away.

"I'm fine," she said. It was strange to have him touch her like they were good friends. As far as she could tell before turning away was that his hands were soft. Not wanting to embarrass herself further, for this was the second time she collided with him tonight, she walked away.

Scorpius followed her down the corridor.

"Did you just come out to think also?" he asked her.

"Yes," she snapped. "And I would like to do it alone."

"Oh come on, Weasley," he said as he slid down against the wall and landed cross-legged next to a suit of armor. "Sit with me."

Rose looked down at him. He was tugging on her wrist trying to pull her down with him.

"Alright," she said with a heavy sigh. She sat down next to him, her body an inch away from his. He leaned his head against the wall and spoke quietly.

"What are you doing for Christmas?"

"My dad and mum and Hugo and I are going to France."

He arched an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name.

"My brother," she answered his puzzled look. "What about you?"

"Practicing Quidditch for the most part," he said gloomily. "I'll be spending all of my time at home though."

"Does your family still live in the Manor?" Rose asked him. She had known very little about the Malfoys but what she had heard, or rather overheard, from her parents was that there was a place called Malfoy Manor. That was the extent of her Malfoy knowledge.

"Yeah but it's only my dad and mum and I now," he said. Rose didn't ask about the rest of his family because the tone of his voice was not very happy.

There were several long moments of silence that were filled only by the occasional rattling of the suit of armor. Rose looked down at her hands and happened to catch a glimpse of her watch.

"Damn!" she whispered as she stood up. "It's past curfew!" She kicked Scorpius in the leg repeatedly until he stood up as well. Both of them practically ran through the corridor, skidding around corners and listening for teachers.

"Wait!" Scorpius hissed as he grabbed a hold of Rose's hand before she turned a corner. "Filch."

"Children, always making noise…" Argus Filch the caretaker grumbled to himself. Rose felt her heartbeat pounding away in her chest and Scorpius's hand tightening around her own. If Filch turned left instead of right they would each be doomed to at least a week's detention. Rose stepped back as quietly as she could and felt Scorpius's chest against her back as she did so. She was glad that his heart was beating just as quickly. She heard Filch's footsteps as he turned right and they both made a dash for the stairs. She took the one going up and he took the one going down, both not bothering to look back. Rose came to a halt, remembering something she wanted to ask him.

"Hey!" she whispered loudly. He turned around already halfway down the staircase. "Will you write to me this Christmas?"

He gave her a smirk.

"Don't count on it."

Rose turned and smiled to herself as she ran back to the Gryffindor common room and up the staircase to her bed.

_Christmas_

Rose sat on the edge of her bed in the French cottage her family had been staying in for the holiday. She was taking off her boots and feeling full after the bouillabaisse she devoured an hour before. Her mother and father had gone walking together through the countryside, something she thought they were mad for considering the cold weather. Hugo was in the kitchen eating no doubt so Rose was left with the silence of her room. She laid down, her legs still dangling over the edge, and closed her eyes.

As soon as Rose thought she might fall asleep in this awkward position she heard a soft rapping noise coming from her window. She opened one eye and saw a large brown owl staring back at her through the glass. She got up and opened the window, curious to see who the letter was from. The owl nipped at her wrist and arm while she untied the letter from his leg until she walked over to the nightstand, picked up the remains of biscuits she was eating earlier, and gave it to him. Rose heard the flutter of the owl's wings as he made himself comfortable by the window while she opened the letter. Inside was a lengthy paragraph or two with slanted letters and hurried handwriting.

_Don't fall over now, Weasley, but I am actually writing to you. I was sitting here in my room feeling sorry for you as you've got no friends and how excited you would be to get this letter. I'll probably make your Christmas! My Christmas is as quiet as ever and I got a whole Quidditch set from dad, quaffle and bats and everything, and about a million different sets of robes from mum. I also got some imported sweets from Bulgaria from my aunt so I'll bring some to school for you to try. I had this ridiculous idea one night that maybe after Christmas had winded down and there was only a day left before school that you could come to the house and see my Quidditch set. Then it dawned on me that your family would probably murder you in your sleep before you could get over here and that you are going to your grandparents' house at the end of holiday anyway. _

_I hope that my owl reaches you in good time and that you're having fun in France. Tell me about your Christmas but don't expect me to write you back. I could barely stand the thought the first time. _

_Hoping you didn't drop dead,_

_Scorpius Malfoy_

Rose read the letter twice, three times, before grabbing a quill from her draw and a piece of parchment. She dipped the quill in ink and began in a neat print.

_You're not at all funny Malfoy. You know that, don't you? I'm glad that you wrote me though. I don't think, no matter how much I practice, that I would be any good at Quidditch. So I think I should be the last person you ask to break in your new set. Also, I don't think my parents would have minded that much. Why would they? My Christmas has been different. Usually I'm surrounded by noisy family but France is beautiful and serene this time of year, especially in the countryside. For Christmas I received a whole new set of quills in purples and pinks and greens, a hand-knitted sweater from my grandmum, and a French handbag with an extension charm put on it from my parents._

_I hope you are looking forward to the start of term like I am. I love your owl by the way. I was thinking of getting one because they're so useful but I think I would like a cat instead. Since you're not keen on writing me again I guess I will see you on the train. _

_Grateful that both of us are not dead, _

_Rose_

Rose rolled up the letter and tied it to the leg of Scorpius's owl. The owl flew away into the cold night and Rose crawled into her bed, drew the covers up to her chin and dreamed about owls, Quidditch and quills, and the smiling eyes of Scorpius Malfoy.

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! This is my first fanfiction (as if it wasn't obvious). **


	3. Third Year

Rose skidded to a halt in front of her Arithmancy class. She walked briskly inside, sat down next to Scorpius, and fumbled through her bag before finding her book and parchment. Luckily, Professor Vector was facing the blackboard and did not notice her stumble in. She found her quill in the inside of her robes and started copying down what was on the board.

"Hell of an entrance, Weasley," Scorpius whispered to her.

"Oh shut up," she snarled. She didn't look at him but kept her eyes glued to her parchment as she listened to Professor Vector explain how different sets of number charts were used in curse breaking during the sixteenth century. Rose had learned to put up with his rude behavior and found he was much more pleasant when she ignored him. However, it was easier and more fun to tease him back. It was not like she needed to look at him anyway. She had him for almost every class and studied alongside him almost once a week. Rose was sad to admit that while Scorpius's inheritance of the Malfoy trademarks was fitting on him, her combination of brown hair from her mother and freckles from her father was boring and unappealing to most. She was not entirely ugly; it was just that she was simple. Rose pulled her hair back and brushed her bangs out of her eyes before going back to her notes.

"Now," Professor Vector was sweeping through the classroom, passing every table and paying close attention to the students' number charts. "When studying the magical property of the number three and deducing that a number is in fact divisible by three, it is important to consider…?" she asked, pausing for answer. Three hands went up into air, one rising from a table in the far left by a Ravenclaw girl, and two coming from the back of the room from Scorpius and Rose herself.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"We would have to consider that the reverse of any number divisible by three is also divisible by three."

"Very good, yes, ten points," Professor Vector said quickly. "And what does this mean when we look at our number charts?"

She scanned the room again. Rose waved her hand in the air but Scorpius pushed her arm down.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"This means that when we already have memorized a complicated three or four digit number that is divisible by three, we can assume that its reversed number holds a meaning in the same realm as our previous number," Scorpius said in one breath.

"Excellent, ten points to Slytherin as well."

"We can assume that its reversed number holds a meaning in the same realm!" Rose mimicked Scorpius in a high pitched voice, careful to appeal to his ears only. He remained staring straight at the board as Professor Vector added more notes and knocked Rose's book off of the table. The loud thump it made caught Professor Vector's attention and she turned in their direction.

"Miss Weasley," she noticed Rose's book on the floor. "Could you save any interruptions for when the class is over?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at Scorpius who was trying not to laugh.

"You're awful you know that?" she asked as they gathered their things and exited the classroom.

"You're just jealous, Weasley," he said. "I can't help it if I'm smarter than you." He shrugged his shoulders and led the way to the grounds for their short break in between classes.

On the way they fell into the conversation of their History of Magic essays that were due the following Friday. There was a horribly complex theory they were supposed to expand on yet Rose and Scorpius couldn't shake the feeling that they were limited to only certain resources. They were supposed to be finding motives behind infamous wizards and witches throughout history but to their dismay they were only finding instances involving illegal trades and mass rebellions against the ministry, the latter immensely popular among the rest of the class. Professor Binns had urged his students not to worry about finding the most interesting or terrifying case but Rose and Scorpius would have none of that, determined to get top marks.

"You know," Scorpius started as he kicked a rock into the lake. "We could always try the library some more."

"More?" Rose asked incredulously. "We've lived there for the past week. There's nothing there."

Scorpius gave an exasperated sigh.

"You're really thick sometimes. There are other sections of the library we haven't even checked yet."

Rose realized what he was talking about and frowned.

"Yeah, the Restricted Section, but how would we even get to it?"

"Sneak in, I guess," he thought out loud. "Do you want to do it tonight?"

"Tonight?" she asked surprised. "Well I guess it's not really going to matter what day because we're not going to be prepared either way!" She sounded defeated. "Wait!" she started again. "I know this spell my dad uses when he doesn't want my mum to hear anything, Muffliato."

"You can cast it okay?" he asked intrigued.

"I'm pretty sure," she said soundly. "It seems solid and not very difficult."

They walked back towards the castle as their short break was over and headed to their respective classes. Rose had agreed to not share their risky expedition plans to anyone, not even Albus or Hugo, who was an impatient and eager First-Year this term.

Class seemed to go by slower than usual for Rose and both she and Scorpius were exceptionally quiet when they had Charms together late that afternoon. She could see his anxiety plastered on his face from across the Hall at dinner and felt nervous herself. She was not one to break rules but justified this under a homework emergency situation. She ate her dinner quietly, listening to her brother and cousin carry on around her.

_Ten in the evening_

Rose carefully exited the portrait hole, her footsteps muffled by the snores of the Fat Lady who closed the door in her sleep. She crept down the corridor towards the library, glancing over her shoulder every minute or so. She saw Scorpius coming towards the library from the opposite direction and ushered him over to her. He shook his head in disagreement and mouthed "Filch" to her and pointed behind him. He put up his hand to tell her to wait and stepped slowly towards the door, whispered "Alohomora" and opened it. Rose knew that Madam Pince was still in there and only locked the door with a simple charm from the inside. Rose stayed halted in one spot as Draco watched the corridor he came from. He signaled for Rose to hurry towards the door and as soon as she reached it he pulled her inside and closed the door behind them.

"Do the spell," he whispered. "Hurry."

Rose looked for Madam Pince and saw her hunched over her desk in the far left with a book on her lap, clearly sleeping. Rose pointed her wand and muttered "Muffliato." She and Scorpius walked to the back of the library and into the roped-off Restricted Section. Free to talk as loud as they want, for Madam Pince's ears were undoubtedly filled with an odd buzzing sound now, they began to scan the titles on the shelves.

"What looks good to you?" Rose asked as she read the spine of _Most Potente Potions_ and _Wicked Ways with Worms. _

"There's a lot here but it looks categorized for the most part," Scorpius said. "Let's see, books about creatures, nope," He cast the book aside. "Books with curses, eh – oh here!"

Rose rushed towards him, almost tripping over the books he threw on the floor in the process. There were at least twenty books dedicated to different witches and wizards throughout history that were heavily involved in the dark arts. At least fifteen of them were new, Rose noticed, and covering Voldemort during the Second Wizarding War. Scorpius picked up _Dastardly Deeds: Tweaking the Unforgivables_ and began flipping through the pages. Rose grabbed _Fiends and Followers_ and sat down on the floor.

"Hey, check this guy out," Scorpius told her. Rose looked up to see him turning the book upside down. "Oh gross, this bloke from Ireland started a Cruciatus trend among his friends when he managed to get his victims to turn their own heads inside out after so much pain."

Rose cringed and turned back to her page. For the most part she could not understand why this book was in the Restricted Section in the first place. She came to a familiar name and almost gasped. She looked up to see if Scorpius had noticed and when she saw that he did not she returned to her paragraph.

_Among these dark wizards and witches were briefly heard of, familiar, and prominent family names throughout the wizard community of Great Britain. Those most active in the Battle of Hogwarts and various events during the Second Wizarding War included Amycus and Alecto Carrow, Antonin Dolohov, Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange, Walden Macnair, Lucius and Draco Malfoy, Peter Pettigrew, Augustus Rookwood, Thorfinn Rowle, and Severus Snape, who had reformed and worked as a double agent during his last years. Others can be found in the index and those prominent players in the First Wizarding War can be found in the book listed in the footnote. _

Rose looked for anything else on the Malfoys but there was only that short passage. She could feel her heart racing and suddenly understood why the book was in the Restricted Section. Scorpius was in school carrying the name of two Death Eaters, as were other students, Rose realized after looking in the index. If this information was out there in the open to everyone, Scorpius would be getting more looks from other people than he already was. Her parents and uncle, she knew, were active in the War and helped end it. They refused to tell her the names of any of the dark wizards except for Voldemort and the Lestranges. She stared at the names on the page. _Lucius and Draco_. Was one them Scorpius's father? She started to read the paragraph over again.

"Weasley, seriously, take this book because the pictures are making me sick," Scorpius said while handing the book over to her. Rose wasn't paying any attention to him. "What are you looking at?" At this question Rose looked up and stared at his face. He scooted over to her and grabbed the book.

"Scorpius," Rose whispered to him as she let him take the book out of her hands. She didn't know what else to say. He looked at her, confused after being called by his first name. He looked down at the page she was reading and Rose put her head in her hands. There were several moments of silence before she heard Scorpius slam the book shut. She looked up from her hands and saw him look down at it before throwing across the library into a large bookcase.

"It's rubbish," he said. He stormed out of the Restricted Section and left Rose sitting there among the books they were once so desperate to read.

_The following week_

The end of May was creeping up on Rose and she began to anticipate exams. She left her room, brushing aside rolls of parchment, some used and others blank, on her bed and floor. She had been receiving letters from her father and mother the past two days asking what she wanted for her birthday. Rose had pushed all thoughts of her birthday to the back of her mind and decided to not worry about it until today, which happened to be what James, Albus, and Hugo agreed to be the best time for a birthday: the last Hogsmeade weekend. She was too busy trying to keep up with all of her class notes and not think about Scorpius. Since the library he had been exceptionally quiet and strangely unavailable to study whenever she asked. Rose had initially been mad at him for leaving her there to clean up the mess and making her walk back by herself. However, she managed to forgive him because if she had found out that someone in her family had supported Voldemort she would be pretty embarrassed too.

Rose entered the Great hall and sat down for breakfast, helping herself to eggs and muffins. She was given a hug from Hugo and boxes of sweets from both him and Albus. James leaned over and offered her a Fanged Frisbee he had nicked from Filch's office. She glanced over at the Slytherin table and saw Scorpius eating pancakes with his head down. She caught the eye of an older Slytherin boy sitting near him and he curled his lip at her and threw her a rude hand gesture. She looked at him, taken aback, and turned around. She did not know him personally but had heard his surname and recognized it from the book she found in the library.

A loud swooping sound came from overhead and a hundred owls flew down to deliver the morning paper and mail. A small owl fluttered down towards Rose and dropped the _Daily Prophet _in her pumpkin juice and another flew down swiftly, landed in Hugo's porridge, and held out its leg to give her a small package. Rose opened the small card and read that it was from her mother and father. Rose was pleased to see that her parents had gotten her a small silver necklace with an elegant _R_ inscribed on a circular pendant. Before she had any more time to admire it another owl landed on the seat next to her with a lumpy package. She untied that one and what fell out was about two weeks worth of sweets from her grandparents. Two more owls were sweeping over her and dropped two packages on her head. Hugo managed to catch them both after they bounced off of her skull and hand them to her. One turned out to be from her muggle grandparents, a blank journal with a velvet cover, and the other had _From Aunt Ginny_ written on the top. She opened it to find a small pink music box. Rose looked up into the airy ceiling and watched the owls fly away. She looked back over at Scorpius's table and he smiled at her slightly. She was relieved to see him give her at least half a smile but she quickly regretted turning around when she saw the other Slytherin boy look up at her.

She finished the rest of her breakfast quickly, feeling the eyes of the Slytherin boy and his friends on her as she exited the Great Hall with everyone else. Every Third-Year and above was excited to be going to Hogsmeade today. The weather was windy but nice and the shops were sure to have many sales going on because this would be the last visit until next term.

By the time Rose made it out the door and into Hogsmeade she had lost sight of Albus in the crowd. She walked down the path, being bumped several times by students running to catch up with their friends. Two girls from her dormitory passed her and wished her a happy birthday and Rose smiled back. She decided that today was most fitting to treat herself to Honeydukes and on the way saw Hugo and Albus walking to Zonko's. She was about to call out to them before she heard her own name being called from behind her.

"Weasley, wait!"

Rose saw Scorpius running towards her looking behind himself frequently as he did so. She waited for him and when he arrived she started walking again.

"Happy birthday, Weasley," he said while walking next to her. "I'm sorry about being a little distant these past few days."

Rose looked at him skeptically.

"Why wouldn't you just talk to me?" she asked, trying not to seem genuinely hurt.

"I didn't want to know what you thought about me after reading that stuff. I mean, who my dad was, that's really not the first thing I wanted you to know about me."

"But you're not him," Rose said simply. Scorpius stopped staring at his shoes and looked at her. "I don't care."

Rose hoped she sounded convincing. She could confidently say that Scorpius was not a Death Eater but still found it interesting that his father was. Scorpius looked considerably happier and began to lead the way towards Honeydukes. Inside Rose made and bought her own fudge while Scorpius shopped for Sugar Quills. The shop was packed and they both hurried to leave so they could eat their sweets outside. Rose was about to head towards Zonko's before Scorpius stopped her.

"Wait," he said as he led her across the street. "I got you a birthday present." Rose felt her insides turn over. He walked towards the post office and she followed, wondering what on earth he could have gotten her. From the outside of the building Rose could see owls of different sizes zooming around. She started to walk inside before Scorpius stopped her yet again.

"You wait out here," he told her pointedly. "Don't go anywhere."

Rose was thoroughly confused and watched Scorpius walk through the doors. The crowd made it impossible to see what was going on inside and Rose was growing anxious with each passing second.

After what seemed like forever she saw Scorpius's figure emerge from the crowd and holding something close to the chest. She realized what it was as soon as he got in reaching distance.

"You got me cat!" Rose said excitedly. She ran over to him and gave him a great hug. She felt him tense up and for a split-second she wondered if he was nervous.

"Careful, you're going to kill it," he said stiffly. She immediately let go and took the cat as he handed it to her. The cat was female and grey. She was slender and had green eyes and she flicked her tail and purred as Rose scratched behind her furry ears. Rose beamed at Scorpius.

"Oh thank you, Scorpius!" Rose squealed. She put the cat down and watched as she rubbed her head against her leg. "Where did you get it?"

"Oh the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley," he said. "I ordered her."

"And they mailed her here?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, probably not by owl," he said, scratching his head. "Or maybe they did, I don't know."

Rose hugged Scorpius again before she could fully comprehend what she was doing. She let go and tried to hide her embarrassment by staring down at the cat. Scorpius was standing still as a statue looking as though he was not quite sure where he was. They began to walk back towards the castle, Rose holding her cat in her arms and Scorpius walking as though his face had been petrified.

**A/N: Again, thanks for the reviews! I had been hoping to effectively convey what I think Rose looks like and how she might act. Yes, she is smart like her mother, but I would think that she would share those certain not-so-perfect traits with her father. So, in my mind, she would be quite intelligent but also stubborn and hard-headed at times and careless. Scorpius, I would think, does not share any pure-blood superiority views like his family but isn't perfect and probably still spoiled and rude. In my story he is in a very confusing place right now but I will talk about that later. **


	4. Fourth Year

The fireplace crackled in the Gryffindor common room and illuminated the walls and big, comfy armchairs sporadically placed on the enormous hearth rug. It was well after nine in the morning and sunlight was pouring through the window near the staircase leading up to the boys' dormitory. The light trickling in made the tiny dancing dust fragments visible but did nothing to warm the room as winter had mercilessly unleashed its fury unto Hogwarts. Rose was sleeping curled up in an oversized armchair near the warmth of the fire, her face partially covered by her hair and Artemis, her cat, below her on the ground with her tail twitching. The common room was not surprisingly empty and Rose allowed her normally conscious self to fill the room with snores. Nearly everyone in the castle had taken the train back home for the Christmas holidays but Rose had stayed behind after declining her mother's offer of a tour of muggle museums. Hugo decided against the tour as well, much to their father's dismay, and had opted to spend Christmas with Granddad Weasley.

Rose shifted in her sleep and breathed heavily. She had been studying intensely since September as professors had demanded more effort and better scores in preparation for O.W.L. exams next year. The weather had been so horrible Rose was forced to stay inside the castle and had gotten into the habit of falling asleep very late into the evening in the common room. Her afternoons were mostly spent with Scorpius who had stayed behind upon hearing that she would not be returning home for the holidays. Rose was secretly glad that she was getting to spend so much time with Scorpius alone. Teachers were much more lenient this time of year and because there were so few students in the castle, the Great Hall was the most popular place to sit and do nothing.

Rose awoke with a start after dreaming about a horrific exam she had no answers to. She looked around confusedly until she remembered falling asleep in the big chair the night before. Noticing the time, she gathered her things and made her way to her room upstairs. After a change of clothes she headed back down the stairs and out of the portrait hole.

The Great Hall was filed with gigantic Christmas trees and smelled of pudding when Rose walked through its entryway. Her stomach growled and she instantly regretted sleeping in and missing breakfast. She spotted Scorpius sitting at the Slytherin table with another member of his house playing chess. He was concentrating, as far as she could tell, and by the look on his face he had lost another piece to the other Slytherin. Rose tried to catch his eye but he was so deeply immersed in the game that he did not notice. She was grateful that the back of the other Slytherin boy was facing her. Over the years she had noticed that she was very unpopular among some Slytherins who she knew were the grandchildren of old Death Eaters. Rose waved at Scorpius but he remained looking down at the chess board. She started to jump up and down and wave her arms childishly, unaware of the looks she was getting from the other students in the Great Hall. Scorpius brought his head up slowly and raised one eyebrow at Rose who had finally stopped after noticing she caught his attention. He turned away and looked to the side and laughed. The other Slytherin turned around and looked at Rose. He sneered and left the table, bumping into Rose as he passed her to exit the Great Hall.

Scorpius called Rose over to his table and she hurried over to him. She sat across from him and moved the departed Slytherin's knight to capture Scorpius's queen.

"I was never good at this," Scorpius said wearily. He raised his hands to concede defeat before Rose could win.

"You give up too easily," Rose said with a smile. She pushed the chess board aside and put her face in her hands. "I shouldn't have slept in. I'm so hungry."

"Let's get out of here then," Scorpius said. "We can go to the kitchens."

"You've been there before?"

"A couple of times, yeah," he said getting up. Rose followed him out of the Great Hall and down the stairs leading directly below it.

"You know," Rose tried to start a conversation, "I don't think some of your friends like me very much. Especially that guy you were sitting with today."

"We're not friends," he said darkly. "He's an idiot and poor company when other people sleep in and forget that I'm here."

"Oh please," Rose said laughing. "I didn't forget about you."

They had reached the portrait with the fruit bowl and Scorpius reached up and tickled the pear.

"Stop snickering!" he told Rose. "That's how you open the door!" At once a door knob appeared and he turned it.

Rose marveled at the number of brass pots and pans hanging from the ceiling and on the walls. There were a number of fireplaces and large tables and hundreds of house-elves scurrying about cleaning up. Immediately, two of them came up to Rose and Scorpius.

"I don't think we should ask them for much," Rose whispered in his ear. Scorpius looked at her as if she was incredibly strange.

"What?" He shook his head in disagreement and put his hands into his back pockets. "We're, uh, a little hungry," he said to the little elf at their feet. "Do you think we could get some food?"

"Of course sir!" the elf piped up. "What might you and the miss like?"

Scorpius looked at Rose who shrugged and then back to the elf.

"Maybe some cakes and sandwiches, and a couple of Butterbeers," he said quickly.

"Our pleasure, sir!" The elf scurried away and prepared everything Scorpius had asked for. He came back, along with two other elves, and shoved everything into Scorpius's arms. Rose was astounded at how fast the elves were able to get the food out and how genius it was for the kitchens to be right under the Great Hall. The food laid out onto the tables only had to be magically transported up to the students.

The elf gave a low bow to Scorpius and then turned and gave one to Rose. Scorpius gave his thanks and started to head out but waited for Rose to finish telling almost every elf thank you repeatedly.

"Where should we eat?" Rose asked brightly. She was glad to be putting something in her stomach.

"Well," Scorpius said timidly. "We could go to my room." Rose could feel her heart pounding away in her chest. She had never been anywhere with Scorpius that was not neutral ground.

"Yes, alright," she said hesitantly.

Scorpius led her down to the dungeons and for the first time Rose had appreciated how warm the Gryffindor common room was. There had to be nothing compared to this. She realized that it had to be under the lake as there was this murky feeling and green-lit atmosphere. They came to a stone wall and Scorpius said the password. Inside Rose felt very out of place. The room had a certain grandeur about it but there lingered an almost chilling feeling. It was empty like her common room, leaving the leather chairs and sofas vacant and room even colder. Scorpius led her past the furniture and torches and up the stairs. She passed doors she guessed opened to the rooms of other students and reached Scorpius's with much anticipation. He opened the door and peered in.

"I have to make sure no one is in there," he told her. "Everything's clear." He opened the door fully and allowed Rose to walk in. There were five beds along the walls with trunks at their feet. Each had a nightstand and curtains, much like the beds in Gryffindor, except everything was green. The room was not circular, but a large square. Scorpius walked all the way to the farthest bed and sat their food down on it. Rose noticed that he had clothes on the bed and books stacked at least two feet high on the nightstand. He quickly moved everything to the floor and straightened the sheets so that it may look half-way decent. She moved closer and took her wand out of her pocket and put it on the nightstand.

"Is this some sort of peace offering?" he asked smirking. "No wands?" He took his out of his back pocket and put it on the nightstand next to hers.

"It would have just been hard to sit with it in my pocket, is all," Rose said. She sat down on the very edge of the bed unsure of what to do next.

"I think my wand and magical skills would beat yours anyway," he said lightly. Rose quickly found her nerve.

"Oh really?" she asked playfully. "What is it made of?"

"Rowan and unicorn tail hair," he said simply. He shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "And what's yours, oak and a giant squid tentacle?" She glared at him "Because I can see the resemblance."

"Very funny, no actually," she told him matter-of-factly. "It's hawthorn and dragon heartstring."

Scorpius looked unimpressed.

"Right, well what do you want to eat?" he asked, grabbing a sandwich for himself. Rose had gotten used to his lack of interest in whatever she was saying. Most of the time Rose was sure Scorpius found her boring. And other times, when they were not fighting or insulting each other, she had the tiniest inkling that he genuinely enjoyed their time together. Rose took a sandwich from the pile and one of the Butterbeers. They ate in silence until Scorpius took Rose's wand off of the dresser and began doing simple spells.

"It feels weird," he said while emitting red sparks from the tip. "I think I prefer my own."

"Well of course you do!" she said reasonably as she picked up his wand. "It chose you when you bought it." She waved his wand around and then proceeded to turn his sheets a brilliant shade of magenta. "Do you want me to match the curtains?"

"Do you want me to hex your eyebrows off?" he asked, teasing her as he pointed her own wand at her face. "It might do some improvement." Rose swatted his hand away and changed the color of his shirt purple. Scorpius, in turn, gave her sweater green stripes.

"I think I like this wand," Rose said as she examined it. She poked Scorpius in the chest with his wand and waited for him to say something back. She realized that he was staring at her and she suddenly became very hot in her green-striped sweater. She lowered the wand and placed her hand on the bed, still holding it. She looked down out of embarrassment but could still feel Scorpius's eyes on her. He pulled the wand out of her hand and placed it on the dresser. Rose continued to look down and tried unsuccessfully to slow down her rapidly beating heart. She felt the bed shift as Scorpius moved closer to her and nearly fell off when he put his hand on top of hers. She looked up at him slowly and saw that he was inching towards her and biting his bottom lip.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly. He leaned in and Rose could feel his breath on hers.

"Rose," he whispered. Rose was overwhelmed with different emotions. She had no idea what he was thinking or why he was about to kiss her. She saw that he was millimeters away from her lips and closed her eyes.

At once there was a slam from downstairs and a loud swear word. Scorpius pressed his forehead against Rose's and grabbed her wrists.

"Wait right here," he said agitated. Rose watched him walk out of his room and felt her stomach flip over many times. She heard him running upstairs and sensed something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked. She did not know how she found the words to speak to him.

"You've got to go, come on." Scorpius grabbed her by the hand and led her out of the room and down the stairs. "As soon as you get out, run to your room because that git will be coming back."

Rose did not know who he was talking about but could only suspect that it was the boy from the Slytherin table earlier that day. She wished that she could have all the time in the world to stand there and hold Scorpius's hand but she also couldn't bear the thought of her and Scorpius getting into trouble. She took one last look at Scorpius who was nervously ushering her out the door and ran up the stairs until she reached the Gryffindor common room on the seventh floor.

Rose stood there panting in the middle of the common room, clutching her side and staring angrily down at the new green stripes on her sweater. She did not know why she was mad but she desperately wanted the green stripes off of her sweater. She reached into her back pocket and realized that she left her wand in Scorpius's room. She swore loudly and stomped her way up to her bed and buried her face in the pillows.

Rose replayed the night over and over in her head trying to understand why Scorpius was rude and infuriating half of the time and at the next moment trying to kiss her in an empty bedroom. She hated him for it and knew that tomorrow was going to be awkward.

_The next morning_

Rose lingered in bed as long as she could stand it before going downstairs for breakfast. When she entered the Great Hall she noticed that Scorpius was not at his table yet. She sat down and helped herself to toast but could barely bring herself to eat it. She saw Scorpius walk into the Great Hall with the other Slytherin and busied herself with a glass of pumpkin juice, spilling some down her front in the process. Scorpius casted a nervous glance her way and then turned back to listen to what the other boy was saying.

Rose sat there wiping juice off of her and jumped when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Scorpius was standing behind her with her wand, smiling at the mess she made.

"What?" she snapped. Scorpius looked taken aback.

"Here's your wand, Weasley," he said as he put in on the table. "I'm sorry about yesterday." He nodded his head at the Slytherin table where the boy from yesterday was sitting.

"Whatever," Rose said harshly. "I have to study today so maybe you should leave." Rose could not help but feel angry with him. Scorpius had to be the most confusing person she had ever had the misfortune to meet and he called her _Weasley_ like nothing ever happened.

"Oh, okay then." Scorpius looked at her before beginning to walk away.

"And we have O.W.L. exams next year so you should really be concentrating too," Rose said to him as he left. She didn't turn around to face him. "So maybe you should stay over there and I should stay over here and we just shouldn't get too friendly." Her father's words echoed in the back of her head and she knew right after saying it that she regretted it.

"Fine, Weasley," Scorpius said. She could hear his old snarky self coming back. "Have it your way. But when you realize that you have no one else, don't come running back to me wanting to be friends." His words stung and Rose stayed turned around.

"I didn't say that we couldn't be friends," she said a little too quickly.

"Whatever," Scorpius said.

She heard Scorpius's footsteps retreating from her table and put her face in her hands.

**A/N: This was a short chapter, yes. I do not like to introduce new characters very much because the only people I care about are Rose and Scorpius. I mention Albus and Hugo because it is necessary but I do not really feel the need to come up with a name for the Slytherin. He is one year older than Scorpius and Rose and well, Harry did not know the names of many of the upperclassmen when he was at Hogwarts so, too bad. I really appreciate the reviews and the subscribers! I think that my portrayal of Rose and Scorpius may seem off but I think that they are really complicated characters. She is tempered and smart but she does not really know what she wants. Scorpius has a lot going against him because of his name and even though he may be a better person than Draco, he is still sarcastic and mean when he wants to be. The only way they know how to deal with each other is to be angry so here they are getting into it again. **


	5. Fifth Year

With O.W.L. exams fast approaching, Rose found herself increasingly more anxious every day. She had been in the library for months on end, going over every fact throughout wizarding history and practicing every spell, incantation, and charm she had learned since first year. She had long stained her cauldron sets from practicing blending and mixing potions and memorized her number charts for Arithmancy and had been to the greenhouses one extra day a week to brush up on her knowledge of magical plants. Rose found herself in the library yet again, deciding whether to review for Ancient Runes or Defense Against the Dark Arts. She decided on the former and sighed heavily to herself.

Rose closed her eyes and repeated random runes translations under her breath. She opened them again and reached for her copy of _Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms_. She was pleased to find out that she had gotten every translation correct and smiled to herself. She looked around, quite happy that all of her studying had paid off, and realized that she was alone at her table and there was no one to smile back at her or throw an insult or two her way. Her smile faded as she was once again reminded of this fact.

For the past year and a half Rose had been virtually friendless. It was true that she had companionship with Albus and Lily and some interaction with James, but they could hardly be counted as friends. They were family and although her parents had schoolmates with children that she had got on reasonably well with before Hogwarts, she had only really connected with one person and he hated her. Rose and Scorpius were no longer seen together unless it was absolutely necessary, making it difficult for them to avoid each other since they shared almost every class. Rose had found out right after they had stopped speaking that she was very unhappy with this arrangement and that she missed him tremendously. She would never admit it though and spent a good amount of her class time rolling her eyes at anything he said and mentioning loudly how big of an arrogant git he was. Scorpius did not hesitate to show Rose the same treatment and went out of his way to get up and leave the Great Hall or library whenever he saw her. Rose felt like her heart had been shattered every time he did this but continued to show no emotion, although her strength was wearing thin.

Rose decided to call it a night and figured that she could work on her studies tomorrow after breakfast. She knew that she would get some alone time anyway as everyone would be rushing to be on the Quidditch pitch. It was the last game of the season and the deciding factor on whether Gryffindor or Slytherin would take the Cup. Rose used to attend all Slytherin games since Scorpius made the team his second year but had skipped every game this term. She knew that this game was much anticipated as it was James's last. As Seeker and Team Captain, James had led the Gryffindor team to countless victories and was ready to beat the Slytherins and Scorpius, who was Seeker as well.

Rose was halfway out of the library before she spotted Scorpius sitting down alone at a table hidden under mounds of textbooks. She moved a little closer to him and when he did not look up she started walking his way. As her footsteps grew louder Scorpius looked up from his books and gave Rose a look of sheer disgust. Before she could open her mouth in protest, Scorpius gathered his things and stormed past her. Rose could hardly contain herself and felt her eyes start to water. Her eyes followed him as he left the library and she could feel tears running down her cheeks as he looked back at her one last time.

_The next morning_

Rose sat at the Gryffindor table picking at her bacon gloomily. She ignored the cheers coming from her table as James sat down and refused the toast that Hugo offered her. She looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Scorpius looking as if he was about to vomit. He was staring down at a plate full of scrambled eggs and sausages, surrounded by other Slytherin Quidditch players and who Rose could only guess could be the captain showing him diagram after diagram. Scorpius looked up briefly and shifted his gaze in Rose's direction and she immediately turned back to her breakfast. She wanted to wish him good luck and tell him he had nothing to worry about but she knew that it was hopeless.

Rose had barely noticed that everyone was leaving the Great Hall and heading straight for the stands when she decided to finally finish her bacon. She decided against it and followed everyone out of the Great Hall but continued walking in a different direction than the crowd as soon as she got to the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Albus asked her. He was already in his uniform and looking at Rose as if she had just done the most horrible thing in the world.

"Oh," Rose tried to think of an excuse to why she was not going to watch the game. "I was just going to get a change of clothes, a little warm outside you know."

"Right," Albus said, looking convinced. "Well you better hurry up so you can get a good seat!" He ran off after the rest of the team and Rose could not help but feel bad for not going. It felt like half of her family was on the Quidditch team, with James as the star player and Albus playing Chaser and Hugo trying out next year.

Rose reached the seventh floor and offered the password to the Fat Lady.

"Niffler."

"Aren't going down to watch the game, eh?" she asked concerned.

"Just open the door," Rose said annoyed.

"Well no need to be rude, Miss," the Fat Lady said reproachfully. She swung the door open and Rose walked into an empty common room. She walked up to her room and sat on her bed, unsure of what to do. She glanced over at her dresser and saw her Prefect's badge gleaming boastfully.

She remembered how happy her mother and father were when it fell out of her envelope the past summer and how Albus bought both of them an endless amount of Sugar Quills when he found out they would both be wearing matching badges. Rose had stepped into the Prefect's compartment on the first of September not at all surprised to find Scorpius sitting there with a Prefect's badge gleaming on his chest. She was proud of her new title and sat directly across from him, her badge rivaling his.

Now, Rose thought her badge was mocking her, showing what could have been and how she and Scorpius could have patrolled the corridors together as friends if she did not mess everything up. She looked at her watch. The match would have started fifteen minutes ago and Rose could only imagine what was happening on the pitch.

She could not take it anymore. Rose desperately wanted to know who was winning and how Scorpius was doing so she quickly ran downstairs, pushed open the portrait hole with strength she did not even know she had, and sprinted down to the stands.

Pushing her way through crowds of Gryffindors, Rose managed to stand where she could clearly see the entire playing field. There was a blur of green on the other side as students waved banners and held out tiny flags. Rose spotted Scorpius flying high on the right side of the pitch, circling above the goal posts. She continued to watch him and glanced briefly at the shapes of Albus and the other Chasers as they passed the Quaffle.

"And Al Potter throws the Quaffle in and SCORES!" exclaimed the announcer from the podium. "Slytherin leads forty points to thirty!"

Rose was impressed with the Slytherin Chasers but not surprised as they were equally good as Gryffindor. It was James who brought the match to the end and usually a win for Gryffindor.

"Coming in from the left, Al Potter goes for another shot and—" the announcer stopped for a brief second. "I think, yes, YES, Malfoy has seen the Snitch!"

Rose's eyes quickly moved from the goal posts to Scorpius who was racing along the stands, his eyes fixed on the tiny Snitch.

"And here comes James Potter close behind Malfoy!" the announcer yelled again. The Gryffindor crowd was cheering wildly behind Rose as she focused on Scorpius's flying.

"Al Potter gets a hold of the Quaffle for the fifth time and Farrell flies towards him with his bat ready to swing!" the announcer yelled into the microphone. Rose saw the Slytherin Beater Farrell swing his bat and hit the Bludger in Albus's direction.

"James Potter and Malfoy are heading for the center of the pitch!" the announcer exclaimed. Rose looked at Scorpius immediately and just as Albus dodged the oncoming Bludger, Scorpius was in clear view of it.

"Scorpius!" Rose screamed, her cries drowned out by the cheering crowd.

"_Potter! Potter!_"

Scorpius reached for the Snitch, his fingertips about to touch it as the Bludger came directly at him. It hit him square in the stomach and made him double-over off of his broom and fall directly onto the ground, landing face-first with a loud _crack_.

James caught the Snitch and the Gryffindors roared with cheers. Rose ran down the stands and onto the pitch until Madam Hooch stopped her from going any further. There was a small crowd around Scorpius's still figure. Madam Hooch was called over and Rose was able to break away from her grip to run over to Scorpius. It seemed like nobody wanted to touch him. Rose reached out to turn him over and gasped when she saw how bloody his face was. He was unconscious and Rose tapped him lightly across his cheek in an effort to wake him.

"Scorpius, come on," she wiped some of the blood trickling down his nose. "Hey, come on."

She was pushed aside by the burly captain as Madam Pomfrey came to his aid. Rose watched as Scorpius was levitated and rushed to the Hospital Wing, his arms dangling pathetically by his side. She ran after his floating body but found herself trapped between depressed Slytherins and cheering Gryffindors hoisting players on their shoulders. Rose pushed her way through crowds of people and managed to reach the Hospital Wing ten minutes after Scorpius arrived.

"No visitors until at least an hour has passed!" Madam Pomfrey barked at her. She closed the curtain around Scorpius's hospital bad and pushed Rose out of the room.

"But –" Rose tried to peek over Madam Pomfrey's shoulder as she was ushered out.

"No, Miss, you may come back later!" The door shut behind her and Rose backed up until she hit a wall behind her. She slid down it, afraid of how badly Scorpius was hurt, and wondering when he would regain consciousness.

Well over an hour had passed before Madam Pomfrey came outside to tell Rose that she was allowed in. Rose walked timidly inside as Madam Pomfrey went into her office. Rose was slightly surprised that no one had come to see if Scorpius was okay, not even his teammates. She pulled back the curtain and found him on his back, sleeping. His chest and torso were exposed and wrapped tightly in bandages, the material stretching as he breathed raggedly. The blood had been wiped clean off of his face, making him look considerably better. Rose reached down and touched his arm and cringed when she felt the soft bruises on his skin. She sat down on the edge of his bed and leaned down to inspect him closer. His right arm looked slightly twisted and he had a bruise over his left eyebrow. She could tell by the way he was sleeping that he was not at all comfortable so she carefully rearranged the pillows under his head.

Rose looked at him sympathetically one last time before taking her wand out of her pocket and putting it on the table beside his bead and leaning over him and burrowing her face into his chest. She placed her arms on either side of him and began sobbing into his skin. She laid there for an eternity before she felt him move beneath her. She got up and looked down at him. His face was contorting with pain and, his eyes shut tightly, struggled beneath her.

"Get off," he said quietly.

"What?" Rose asked him as she leaned in.

"I said get off, Weasley!" he said loudly as he pushed her off of him with his arms. Rose jumped back and stared at him, scared of what he might do. He grabbed her wand from the nearby table and pointed it towards Madam Pomfrey's door before muttering the Muffliato incantation. Rose continued to stare at him as he looked down at his bandages and the bruises on his arm. With much effort he staggered out of his bed and threw Rose's wand back onto the table. He walked over to the other side of the room and angrily kicked a trash bin into the wall.

"Don't hurt yourself!" Rose cried to him.

"Oh shut up!" he said scathingly. He grabbed a jar of rubbing medicine and smashed it on the floor. "Why are you even here?"

"Because I was worried about you!"

"You don't need to be," he said back, pacing the room.

"I just watched you fall, and, and," Rose tried to hold back all of her emotion. "I was just so worried, Scorpius!"

"You're such a liar Rose," he said, unconvinced himself.

Rose watched, shocked, as Scorpius walked back towards his bed and ripped the curtains off so hard the rod fell down and he chucked it at the opposite wall. He stopped, breathing heavily and clutching his broken ribs as he sat back down on his bed.

Rose did not know what to do. Scorpius had his hands covering his face, his hair a mess and his panting increasing. She walked over to him and he grabbed the sheet from the bed and brought it up to his chest. He looked down again and Rose sensed that it was as good a time as ever to try and console him. She walked towards him again and, standing, grabbed his head and brought it just below her chest and onto her stomach. She cradled his head and shoulders in her arms and stroked his hair.

"I _was_ worried about you," she whispered. Scorpius wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tighter.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice muffled by her shirt. Rose was glad that his head was not resting against her chest because then he would be able to feel her heart beating as if it was trying to escape.

"I'm sorry, too," she said back. "I missed you so much, you wouldn't even believe."

Scorpius brought his face to look up at her. His eyes were red and tired.

"I missed you more, Rose," he said. He put his head back into her midriff and sighed, shaking as he did so. Rose could feel her eyes burning and closed them tightly to hold back any tears wishing to fall.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized again. "I thought you hated me." Scorpius lifted his face so that only his forehead was resting on her.

"I could never hate you," he said sadly. "I was just angry."

"Me too," Rose said admittedly. "I was just so confused and I didn't understand anything."

"Don't worry," Scorpius told her, clutching her back tighter. "You won't have to worry about it anymore." There was a hint of sadness in his voice and Rose gently brushed his short hair out of his eyes.

Rose lifted his head from her body and helped him lay back down. He inhaled sharply as she touched him near his ribs and Rose quickly withdrew her hands.

"No, it's okay," Scorpius said quietly as he grabbed Rose's hands and placed them back on his ribs. "I think I must have broken at least three of them." Rose winced as she remembered both the Bludger colliding with him and the cracking noise after Scorpius had fallen and looked at his already healed nose before bringing her hands up to the bruises on his arms.

"You must have gotten these when you fell," she said sadly. The Bludger must have broken his ribs when it collided with his abdominals and the fall must have done the last damage, including smashing his face.

"Yeah," he said. He seemed distracted as he looked at her hands inspecting his bruises. Rose noticed that he had some on his chest and proceeded to brush them lightly with her fingertips. She pushed his bed sheet lower and made her way down his chest. She was concerned and did not notice Scorpius staring at her or breathing so hard that his chest heaved up and down. He gently grabbed her hand and Rose snapped out of it.

"I'm really tired, Rose," he said weakly and embarrassed. Rose removed her hands and straightened his pillows again so he would be comfortable. "You should go back to your room."

"Okay," Rose said sadly as she grabbed her wand. "Do you need anything?"

"No," he said as he smiled up at her. Rose turned to leave, her insides fluttering with happiness at their restored friendship. She reached the doorway and then turned around.

"Scorpius?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he mumbled, his eyes closed and his covers drawn back up to his chest.

"Did you really want to get away from me whenever you saw me?"

"Yes," he said smiling. "Because you're really quite ugly." He opened his eyes and gave her a painful grin before touching his sides and closing his eyes again.

"Oh good," Rose said smiling. "Goodnight, Scorpius." She closed the door behind her knowing that his snoring was an indication that he would not be answering anytime soon.

_Last day of school_

Rose and Scorpius ran down onto the Grounds, eager to be going home. They had just finished a number of grueling exams and were looking forward to summer break. Rose checked her book bag one last time and caught up to Scorpius walking a few feet ahead of her, Artemis by his side.

"Isn't it great?" he looked at her and asked. "A whole year without these big tests. And free periods!"

"Our classes are going to be twice as hard though," Rose said solemnly. "But they should be interesting, no?"

"Our classes are going to be twice as hard assuming we passed our O.W.L.s," Scorpius said. He looked slightly unhappy and Rose wrung her hands nervously.

"You think we did okay, right?" She asked him as they stepped onto the train. The steam was drifting through the air and students piled into compartments, some taking last looks at Hogwarts and others telling Hagrid that they would see him next term.

"I hope so," Scorpius said sighing. "I'm just unsure about Transfiguration."

"You did fine," Rose said reassuringly. She and Scorpius took a compartment near the back of the train and sat down, putting their luggage overhead and pulling old Honeydukes sweets out of their pockets.

After the Quidditch match they had resumed their friendship immediately. Scorpius's ribs were healed after one day of rest in the Hospital Wing by a flustered Madam Pomfrey and he was allowed to leave with Rose in time for dinner. They had not spoken about the Christmas holidays the year before or about the Quidditch match but Rose knew that Scorpius was blaming himself for the loss of the game and the Cup.

The train ride was long and loud as Gryffindors were still talking loudly about the last match and cheering for James. Scorpius rolled his eyes and laid down on the seat opposite Rose. They sat in silence, Scorpius sleeping and Rose reading her books, until the smiling witch with the trolley came down the train corridor. She slid the compartment door open and Rose quietly bought Cauldron Cakes and Chocolate Frogs, careful not to wake Scorpius. He shifted in his sleep and Rose threw a Cake onto his chest.

"Good morning," she said sarcastically as he got up.

"Just drifted off for a second," he mumbled before taking a bite out of his lunch. Rose threw him a Chocolate Frog and bit into a Cauldron Cake herself. She chewed in silence until Scorpius took out his Chocolate Frog card and looked at it.

"Hey, I think this is your mum," he said with a mouthful of chocolate. Rose perked up and listened to him as he read the card. "_Hermione Granger Weasley is best remembered by her significant role in assisting Harry Potter in the defeat of Voldemort. She is prominent in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." _

Rose nodded and went back to eating her lunch.

"Impressive," Scorpius said. He looked at the card and then up at Rose and then back at the card. "You look like your mum."

"Yes, I suppose," she said back.

"But then again you look a little different," he said as he read the card again. He gave it to her and laid back down. Rose put the card in her pocket and wondered if Scorpius's mother or father were on a Chocolate Frog card. She thought that the answer would be no as Scorpius seemed genuinely impressed at her mother's achievements.

"You can sit over here if you want," Scorpius said out of nowhere. Rose put down her book and walked over the seat across from her. Scorpius got up and Rose sat down where his head had been. She pulled out an old Sugar Quill from the Honeydukes pile and contemplated helping herself to it before Scorpius laid his head on her lap. She felt her body tense up and her ears grow red with embarrassment. She looked down at him and saw that he looked comfortable and at ease with his eyes closed and his hands resting on his stomach. Rose regained her composure and tried not to think of anything besides friendly thoughts.

They stayed in this position for another hour, Scorpius lightly sleeping on Rose's lap and Rose leaning her head on the window and staring at the blurred images flying by. She nudged him off of her when she realized that the train was stopping and they slowly gathered their things. They passed Albus and Hugo coming out of their compartments and shoving their way through the crowd on the train. They also passed by James who was bowing in front of several students and rejoicing over his last trouble-making years at Hogwarts.

Rose saw her mother and father talking to her Aunt Ginny who had already been reunited with Lily. She glanced at Scorpius standing next to her and looking for his parents. She saw them standing at the other end of the platform a moment after he did. He looked so much like his father except his hair was slightly darker and his chin less pointed. His mother's back was turned towards them as she watched other students so Rose could not make out if he resembled her or not.

"Well my parents are over there, Weasley, so I'm going to head off," he put his arm around her and gave her a small hug. "Don't look now but I think your father might have to pick his jaw up off the floor." Rose looked over at her family and saw her father with his mouth agape. She let go of Scorpius and wished him good luck.

"I'll see you in September then?" she asked him smiling.

"Get out of here Weasley," he said walking away. "I'll see you." He touched her arm as he said this and walked away towards his parents.

Rose clutched her luggage tighter as she made her way through the crowd to meet her parents.

**A/N: I was reading about the Second Generation somewhere and people were asking "Isn't Rose a redhead?" I thought for a second that she might be and then immediately after that I thought, No! It's simple genetics – she's a brunette. Nah, but she can look however, she'll still be awesome. I wanted to have Scorpius lying in her lap at the end of this chapter to show how much like Draco in his mannerisms he is (HBP). But I also gave him a lot of anger to deal with because I think he has frustration built up inside him from having a lot going against him in the first place, something I think is very unlike Draco who always seemed well on with himself (except of course during HBP). **


	6. Sixth Year

October had come as quickly as September had left and brought newly fallen leaves and the chilling yet festive feeling of Halloween to the Hogwarts grounds. Gigantic pumpkins had littered the gardens and Nearly Headless Nick was again spreading the word of his annual Deathday Party.

There was an orange glow in the Great Hall as students walked in excitedly. Halloween decorations filled the entire room and small pumpkins and candles floated in the air. Rose made her way over to the Gryffindor table, eager for the feast to begin. As soon as Rose sat down platefuls of food appeared on the table. Live bats circled above her in Halloween fashion and her classmates around her started to dig in. Rose helped herself to chicken and potatoes and brought a book out from her bag to read.

"Why are you reading?" Hugo asked her, his mouth full of biscuit.

"I have my first N.E.W.T. level exam in Charms net week and I need to be prepared," she said annoyed. She continued to read and took a sip of her Pumpkin Juice.

"Weasley needs to study anyway."

Rose turned around at the sound of the familiar voice and saw Scorpius reading the book over her shoulder. She and Scorpius had learned last summer that they both passed their Charms O.W.L. with an 'Outstanding,' along with Potions, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, and Herbology. The only places they had differed was that Rose received and 'Outstanding' in Transfiguration while Scorpius did not and he received a perfect 'Outstanding' in Defence Against the Dark Arts while Rose was only able to produce an 'Exceeds Expectations.' They were still sharing all N.E.W.T. level classes and were back to competing for top marks.

Rose simply smiled at Scorpius and then turned back to her book.

"Manage some non-verbals yet?" he asked teasingly as he sat down next to her.

"Yes," she said satisfied. "Just yesterday I levitated a chair without saying a word." Scorpius took some chicken off of her plate and ate it.

"My dad taught me a really good one this summer," he said, taking a swig of Rose's Pumpkin Juice. "But it's really dangerous and we'd be in detention for the rest of our lives if we used it."

"Is it like one of the Unforgivables?"

"Should be," he said with a nod. "It's really bad."

"Well don't use it," Rose said firmly. "And especially around me. I don't fancy having detention for the rest of my time here."

"Of course I'm not going to use it!" he said angrily. "Unless there was an emergency or a really good reason."

"What reason would you have to use it?" she asked incredulously.

"I dunno," he took another drink of her Pumpkin Juice, "To save someone's life?"

"Would you save my life, Scorpius?" Rose asked him sweetly. She could tell that it was making him uncomfortable.

"No way," he said pushing her away. "'Go ahead and have her' is what I would say." Rose slapped him across the arm and returned to her book. He grabbed a biscuit from her plate and left to the Slytherin table, waved away by Rose.

Rose turned and watched him walk over to his house table and sit down. She had spent the last summer and beginning of this year fantasizing about the possibilities if Scorpius had been sorted into Gryffindor. There would be late night common room conversations and maybe even a holiday visit to her house. Rose was perfectly aware of her father's reaction to her and Scorpius's friendship and tried hopelessly to convince him that Scorpius was not that bad. And although her father had said that it was not Scorpius himself that he disliked, it was the fact that the name Malfoy was attached to him.

Rose watched as Scorpius took some food from a nearby platter and set it on his plate. She turned back to her book and sighed. She and Scorpius got along reasonably well when they acted perfectly friendly towards each other and Rose thought it best to keep it that way. She had often found herself staying up into all hours of the night wondering why he had not shown her the same affection as that night in his room. Rose could only come to blame herself for this and the recent rift in their friendship and kept any thoughts like these in the back of her mind.

As the feast ended Rose walked back to her room and thought about what Professor Longbottom had told her and other Sixth-Years about their future careers. There were all sorts of wizarding jobs out there and both her father and mother and tried to convince her to work in one of the Ministry departments.

"Weasley, where are you going?"

Rose recognized Scorpius's voice as he followed her up the stairs.

"I thought I should patrol the corridors," Rose said absentmindedly.

"Wow, your life is just one adventure after another," he said dryly.

"You're a Prefect too!" she retorted. Rose continued walking up the stairs until she reached the fourth floor and began to look down the corridors for any students misbehaving.

"Scorpius?" she asked. "What do you want to do when you leave school?"

"Celebrate," he said grinning.

"No, like with your life."

"I always thought being a Hit Wizard would be pretty cool," he said. Rose agreed with him.

"But that would be dangerous, wouldn't it?" she asked him concerned. She knew that Hit Wizards worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and went after rogue wizard and witch criminals. She suspected it could be only a little less dangerous than being a full-fledged Auror.

"Probably," he said brightly. "But life is dangerous." He turned to her. "What are you going to do?"

"I think that I want to write," Rose said confidently. "You know, maybe for the _Prophet _and then a book of my own someday."

"_A Day in the Life of a Humble Hag_," Scorpius teased. "Yeah that'll suit you." Rose glared at him.

"I'll be writing intellectual books not an autobiography," she said. "I want to have something to show my children, you know?"

"Oh, _intellectual_ books, excuse me," Scorpius gave her a low bow. "And what makes you think you'll have children anyway? It will be hard enough finding someone who will marry you."

"Oh really?" she asked, taking the bait. "I guess I'll have to marry you then."

"Me?" he said pointing to his chest. "Why would I marry _you_?"

"Because you've got no one else," she said smiling. He stared at her and Rose knew that she had caught him off guard. "So do I get to live in your manor with you?"

Scorpius looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face.

"I'll take that as a yes," Rose said as she walked ahead of him.

Scorpius walked with Rose up every staircase and down every hall. They checked every corridor but only saw Mrs. Norris, who Scorpius offered to kick into a suit of armor. They managed to escape Peeves's taunting and Rose could tell Scorpius was starting to get restless.

"We're just wasting time, Weasley," he groaned. "Everybody went to bed already."

"Alright, fine," Rose sighed. They turned a corner and Rose saw the image of a burly older student at the end of the corridor. "Hey wait –" Rose led their way towards the figure who, as they got close enough to see, was twirling his wand between his figures as he came closer.

"Weasley, let's go," Scorpius grabbed her hand and pulled her in the opposite direction. Rose pulled back, confused.

"Why –"

"Malfoy," the Slytherin boy who Rose was all too familiar with drawled. "I thought you would have dumped this filth by now."

Rose, who had never been so insulted by someone who was not Scorpius, was lost for words. She felt Scorpius's grip on her hand loosen and could tell he was reaching for his wand. Rose's eyes darted back and forth between Scorpius and his fellow Slytherin.

"Rose, don't listen to him," Scorpius said, keeping his eyes on the other boy.

"Why are you always around her?" the Slytherin asked. He had stopped twirling his wand and was now gripping it tightly. "You should be ashamed to even be seen with her! Her whole family put yours and mine in prison and you act like nothing happened."

"Some people deserved to be put in prison!" Scorpius was yelling now and walking closer to the Slytherin.

"You're just as washed up as your useless father," the Slytherin sneered. Scorpius pointed his wand at the Slytherin's chest and Rose finally found her voice.

"Scorpius stop –"

"Listen to your girlfriend, Malfoy," the Slytherin said daringly as he raised his wand as well. Rose grabbed Scorpius's arm, knowing what spell he was considering using. "She knows you shouldn't do something you'll regret later, even if her blood is dirt."

"Sectum –"

"Scorpius, NO!" Rose pulled his arm back and he swatted her away. He threw his wand to the ground and lunged at the Slytherin. Rose watched in horror as Scorpius brought the much bigger Slytherin down and punched him square in the face. The Slytherin struggled against Scorpius but was slammed back down and punched in the mouth.

"Stop it!" Rose yelled. She was able to pull Scorpius off of the other boy long enough for him to get up. She quickly raised her wand and pointed it at his face.

"Leave," she told the Slytherin. Scorpius was standing beside her panting, his knuckles bloody.

"Your righteousness forgives so easily then?" the Slytherin spat out.

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked angrily. She continued point hold her wand at his face.

"You just let all of the things his family did go?" he asked again. Rose looked at him, waiting for him to say more. "His family took your mum and tortured her in their home! They took your mudblood mother and almost killed her. His dad tried to do yours in! That's what I've heard from my family anyway. That's what his family's been boasting about."

Rose lowered her wand and turned to look at Scorpius. He put up his hands in defense.

"Rose, listen," he was backing away from her now and Rose could feel her eyes watering. "That was a long time ago."

"You never told me!" Rose said incredulously. "You hid this from me. You're supposed to be my best friend!"

"I am!"

"No, you're not! You let me go around with you not knowing who your dad was –" she paused then rounded on him again. "Who you are!"

"You know me, don't talk like that!" Scorpius tried to walk closer to her but she backed off.

"No, I don't! You come from this horrible family and who knows? You could be worse!"

"Me?" Scorpius asked her. "Why would you think that? Why would you say that?"

"Why would you lie to me?" Rose asked him. She turned away, leaving him alone with the Slytherin.

**A/N: This is the shortest chapter in the story, so I'll throw in another soon! ABSOLUTELY FREE! This chapter and the next are so close that I had to cut this one down to hopefully have a good Seventh Year chapter. I really really appreciate the reviews, especially those from people who have reviewed most, if not all, of the chapters (jasmineflower27, ari11990, and Ninelli). It keeps me wanting to write ******** Hit Wizards are mentioned very briefly in PoA, by the way. **


	7. Seventh Year

Rose was in her bed, the curtains drawn, listening to her alarm clock tick. For over a year she had trouble sleeping. She would stay awake every night until exhaustion finally got the better of her and she was able to get at least a few hours of sleep. Scorpius Malfoy ran throughout her head all day and night, nonstop. She had done everything she could to forget that he existed. She had avoided his gaze and the fact that he was always trying to talk to her. Rose had refused to participate in any conversation that contained the words "Quidditch," "Slytherin," or "Death Eater."

Rose was very aware of her growing attraction to Scorpius but felt that new feelings of anger and disappointment had bubbled up inside her and pushed that old feeling back. She desperately wanted to forgive him for neglecting to tell her about his family's past but she could not bring herself to do it. She asked her parents about the Malfoys but only heard stories about how Scorpius's, father, Draco, was a cowardly bully and particularly nasty to anyone who was not a Slytherin or a pureblood. They never mentioned Death Eaters or Malfoy Manor tortures and although Rose knew that they wanted to spare her the ugly side of war, she was annoyed that they refused to tell her crucial facts about her classmate.

There was a great gust outside and Rose heard the window shift as it was beaten by the wind. She felt incurably restless and left her bed in her pajamas hoping to find solace in taking a walk. Rose was not usually one to break rules but had found that there were certain times of night that most, if not all, teachers were in bed and she would be allowed to roam as she pleased.

She crept down the stairs and out of the portrait-hole and wondered if she would be able to get something to eat from the kitchens. The pictures lining the walls of Hogwarts were not abuzz with conversation or movement, but rather the people in them were sleeping. Rose felt that Hogwarts was an entirely different building at night. It seemed raw and less magical but at the same time, very real. In the quiet and candle-lit corridors she could hear only her own thoughts. Rose let her mind wander to Scorpius and remembered that immediately after the Slytherin boy told her everything she did not know he tried to talk to her repeatedly. He must have said that he was sorry enough times to last him an eternity but Rose would have none of it. She was too heartbroken that he would neglect to tell her those things and too shaken up to talk about it. She had found him numerous times waiting outside the portrait of the Fat Lady before breakfast and after dinner.

But at the start of their Seventh Year, he had given up. She missed him terribly, even when he was calling her ugly and although she had been made Head Girl and he Head Boy, they had never consulted one another. Scorpius was either on the Quidditch pitch or conveniently somewhere else when Rose tried to look for him. She snuck glances at him at breakfast when she knew no one was looking and saw girls at his table talking to him. She did not doubt that they fancied him for he was considerably better looking than most of the boys her year and the fact that he was even taller after summer holiday did not help. Rose had even found herself foolishly awaiting a Christmas card or letter this past Christmas but was not surprised that she did not receive any. And when January and Scorpius's birthday rolled around, Rose justified in her mind that he did not deserve a present and probably would not accept it anyway.

Rose came to the picture of the bowl of fruit in front of the door to the kitchens and was about to tickle the pear before she heard footsteps. She froze on the spot and closed her eyes, waiting to hear the worst from one of the professors.

"Rose?"

She opened her eyes, momentarily relieved until she recognized the voice.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius was standing a few feet away from her, fully dressed, his expression worried at what she might say. Rose turned to him and without saying a word, hurried past him.

"Hey wait," he was calling after her in a hushed voice. "Rose, let me talk to you!"

Rose darted up the nearest staircase and headed for the seventh floor. She regretted wearing only socks on her feet as she slid across the floor and nearly collided with a suit of armor. She could hear Scorpius running behind her, catching up.

Rose stopped, clutching her side, panting. She noticed that she was directly across the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and figured that she had lost Scorpius somewhere, thankful for once for the moving staircases. She tried to catch her breath and think of a place that she could get away from Scorpius. She paced the corridor a number of times until she happened to turn around and find a large door. She was not entirely sure if it had been there a second before but she had a good feeling about going through it.

Rose knew that she had heard briefly of a room like this, one that existed when you needed it, but had never had so much interest to check it out. The room was small, with a large armchair on one end and fluffy pillows next to it. There was a circular rug on the floor and a collection of chocolates on a round table on the other side. It was perfect for one person to become lost in thought or simply lost from the rest of the world. Rose sat down in the large chair and began to cry. She did not want to see Scorpius. She wanted to forget about him and his family and the girls she had noticed that he tended to hang around more these days. She brought her knees to her chest and sank lower in the armchair.

"Blimey, you run fast."

Rose turned around, startled at the voice, and found Scorpius standing there catching his breath.

"How did you know where I was?" she asked quietly. Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her.

"I know you," he said seriously. "You wanted to hide from me, but I found you." He began to

walk the interior of the room, pausing to stuff chocolate in his pockets and kick one of the pillows. Rose watched him out of the corner of her eye, determined not to talk to him.

"Listen," he began. His voice was shaking. "I know that you're mad at me –"

"Of course I'm mad at you!" Rose lashed at him before he could continue. She was on her feet now and staring into his pale face. "You lead me on to think that you are my friend when you really have all of this shady family history! And even when I find that stuff in the book about your dad and grandfather, I tell you that I don't care because I really didn't at the time, but you don't even tell me all of the horrible things they did to my family!"

"I know, just listen to me –"

"No," Rose started again. "You listen! I forgot all of that stuff. I didn't care! But then you have to try and ruin everything by almost kissing me! The worst part though is that I had to hear about the awful things your family was involved in by someone who called me 'filth.' YOU WERE MY BEST FRIEND!"

"I AM YOUR BEST FRIEND!" Scorpius had yelled so loud that Rose stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him wide-eyed. "What was I supposed to say, Rose? 'Hello, would you like to see my Death Eater photo album?' I couldn't go around telling you everything. What would you think of me?"

"I wouldn't –"

"Oh spare me!" he spat. "Look at you now! You're ashamed of me." He looked defeated.

"I was never ashamed of you," Rose said quietly.

"I hate it when you lie, Rose," he said looking down. He lifted his head back up to look at her.

"You come from this famous family of saviors and Aurors and you don't want to be a part of anything remotely bad and I get that. But you know me. You know that if I don't tell you about something like your mum being tortured at my manor it's for a good reason."

Rose stared at him, unable to say anything. She did know him and she wanted to kick herself for not trusting him.

"How do you think it feels to be the son of a Death Eater at a school so against anything or anyone related to Voldemort? Nobody except people who are in Death Eater families as well wants anything to do with me."

"But I did!" Rose spoke up. "I stood by you!"

"So what, you felt sorry for me?"

"No, it's not like that!" she said frantically.

"Well then what was it? You genuinely wanted to be my friend, that's great. But when I tried to explain to you about, well, _everything_, you treated me like a stranger!"

Rose could not find anything else to say but to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Scorpius," she whispered. Scorpius stopped glaring at her and relaxed his features.

He walked over to her.

"I'm sorry too," he said looking down at her. "I should have told you everything."

Rose shook her head to tell him that he did not need to be sorry.

"It's just," Scorpius turned away from her again and kicked another pillow. "I have to live with this history, you know? It follows me everywhere and it's just so _unfair._" Rose watched him as he let out all of his frustration. He walked past her and threw the little table holding the mound of chocolates to the floor and gave it a good kick. He turned back around and looked at Rose who was staring at him. He slowly walked up to her and leaned in.

"Scorpius?" Rose asked unsure of what was about to happen. She had been through this once before.

He did not answer and Rose held her breath as she felt his lips on hers. He kissed her slowly and then, as if he was struggling with the idea of whether to continue kissing or leave, drew back.

"Goodnight, Rose," he said quietly. He turned around and walked out the door.

Rose was in shock. He had finally kissed her and then he left. She looked around at the disturbed state of the room and closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them he would be there again. Seeing that he was not there, she gave a heavy sigh and walked towards one of the great stone walls enclosing the room, crestfallen.

There was a slow creaking noise followed by a loud bang as a door was open and slammed shut. Rose looked up to see Scorpius swiftly walking towards her.

He was suddenly in front of her and before she knew what he was doing, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Rose immediately closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She thoroughly kissed him back as she felt him grab her waist. He moved her up against the wall and kissed her harder and Rose could feel the rest of his body press against hers.

Scorpius broke away from her mouth and kissed down her neck.

"I love you, Rose," he whispered as he reached her chest. Rose came back to reality and gently pushed him away. As she walked to the center of the room, she felt all of those old feelings rushing back. She looked into his eyes, trying to find any hint of a joke. And although she found none, she wanted to ask him something.

"Scorpius?" she asked quietly. He walked back to her and grabbed her waist again, clearly distracted.

"What?"

"Do you really think that I may be, well, sort of unfortunate looking?"

He shook his head and smiled.

"No," he leaned in and kissed her again before coming back up. "Well, maybe a little."

Rose smiled and reached up to kiss him. She started to sit down on the circular rug and tugged Scorpius down with her. He pushed her onto her back as she started for the buttons on his shirt. He quickly took it off and was back on top of her again. He started to fumble with his belt as Rose pulled him closer to her.

_The next morning_

_­_There was no light pouring into the windowless Room of Requirement. Rose awoke with a start as she felt the cold floor beneath her. She looked around and saw that the small table was on its side and the pieces of chocolate were scattered nearby. She looked at herself and saw that she was fully dressed with Scorpius's shirt by her side. She looked next to her and saw him lying there on his stomach, his head turned towards her, sleeping and barely dressed. Rose could feel the color coming to her cheeks as she stared at him. She picked up his wrist and looked at his watch: six-thirty.

"Scorpius," she nudged him on his side. "Wake up." Scorpius frowned and turned over onto his back. His blond hair was sticking out in all directions and he covered his face with his hands as he woke up.

"Is it morning?" he asked, his voice muffled by his hands. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at Rose who was sitting next to him. His grey eyes looked tired but he gave her a sheepish grin. He got up and found his pants and shirt and began putting them on. Rose nodded and turned away, embarrassed.

"I guess we should go back to our rooms," she said nervously.

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed. He was scratching his head and looking down at his feet.

"So," Rose started. She got up as well and began to walk towards the door. "We can meet at breakfast?" Her words came out more as a question than a statement for she was unsure of how Scorpius was feeling.

"That sounds good," Scorpius told her. "I'll walk you to your common room." Rose had briefly forgotten that they were on the same floor as the Gryffindor common room and followed Scorpius out the door. They walked through the corridors until they came to the portrait of the Fat Lady who was eyeing them skeptically.

"I'll see you then," Scorpius told her. He leaned in and kissed her lips. Rose watched him walk away towards his own room and suddenly felt very alone. She was unsure of how they were supposed to go from here and hoped that they did not just put their friendship in jeopardy.

"Mermish," Rose told the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open without a word and Rose ran up to her room to change. She gathered her school books and bag that she needed for her morning classes and went downstairs.

There were only a few people already at breakfast as Rose sat down at the Gryffindor table. There were biscuits and milk on the table but as the Great Hall filled with hungry students there appeared pancakes, sausages, and eggs. Rose glanced up at the doors several times while eating her toast. Her heart leaped whenever she saw a flash of green but was disappointed when Slytherin after Slytherin sat down at the table across the hall.

Rose had put her toast down to take a drink of Pumpkin Juice when she saw Scorpius walking through the entryway. She bit her lip nervously as he approached her looking somewhat unhappy. He sat down next to her and grabbed her hand under the table.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked nervously. Many thoughts ran through her mind in the brief five seconds that he did not answer. She thought that he might tell her that their recent time together was a mistake or a lapse in judgment.

"I told you that I loved you last night," he said quietly. Rose remembered. She remembered that she felt confused when he told her. But that feeling was soon replaced with one of immense desire when she continued to kiss him. And as Rose experienced Scorpius in a way she never had before and as they lay there sleeping she had indeed felt what she knew was love as well. The chatter and laughter throughout the Great Hall had increased and Rose slid closer to talk to him.

"I love you, too," Rose told him. She smiled brightly as he gave her a relieved and genuinely happy grin.

"You know what?" Scorpius asked her as he took her toast off of her plate. "You look really beautiful today." Rose blushed and reached for a biscuit as Scorpius smiled while eating her toast.

**A/N: There. All done. Thank you all so much for the reviews! I really thought that this was going to be a disaster so I hope that I was wrong. This was my first fanfiction so I did not have very high hopes. I appreciate everything and I'll most likely write something else now. The end ******


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